- Home |
- Blog |
- Lithography |
- Published Works |
- For Profit |
- About Chris
- | Gentleman
- | Scientist
Index
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Latent Image The reproduction of the aerial image in resist as a spatial variation of chemical species (for example, the variation of photoactive compound concentration).
Example: The latent image was visible to the naked eye due to the change in the resist optical properties with exposure.
LER see Line Edge Roughness
LES see Line-End Shortening
Levenson PSM see Alternating PSM
Lifting, Resist The separation of the resist pattern from the substrate, either partially or completely, due to a loss of adhesion.
Example: Resist lifting could not be avoided without the use of an adhesion promoter.
Lift-Off Process A lithographic process by which the pattern transfer takes place by coating a material over a patterned resist layer, then dissolving the resist to “lift off” the material that is on top of the resist.
Example: The lift-off process allowed the patterning of the metal without the use of an etch step.
Line Edge Roughness (LER) The deviation of a feature edge (as viewed top-down) from a smooth, ideal shape. That is, the edge deviations of a feature that occur on a dimensional scale smaller than the resolution limit of the imaging tool that was used to print the feature.
Example: One simple measure of line edge roughness is the RMS deviation of an edge from a best-fit straight line.
Line-End Shortening (LES) The reduction of the length of a line (where a line is defined here as any rectangular feature whose length is significantly greater than its width) as measured only at one end. Thus, the line-end shortening is characterized as the difference between the actual position of the end of a line and the intended (designed) position.
Example: The amount of line-end shortening for the feature increased sharply when out of focus.
Linear Resolution The smallest feature that can be printed (using some agreed-upon criterion for resolution) while simultaneously allowing acceptable printing of all larger features.
Example: While the use of OPC does not improve the ultimate resolution of a lithography process, its main benefit is in improving the linear resolution.
Linearity The variation of printed linewidth as a function of designed (or mask) linewidth. In general, linearity is measured with a fixed duty cycle (equal lines and spaces, for example).
Example: The use of OPC resulted in a marked improvement in linearity for both dense and isolated lines.
Linewidth see Critical Dimension
Lithographer 1. A practitioner of lithography. 2. A harmless drudge.
Example: The overworked and underappreciated lithographer paused for a moment and daydreamed, “Will Moore’s Law ever end?”
Lithography A method of producing three-dimensional relief patterns on a substrate (from the Greek lithos, meaning stone, and graphia, meaning to write).
Example: Although lithography is a centuries-old patterning technique, the small features used in integrated circuits make semiconductor lithography very challenging.
LSI Large-Scale Integration, an integrated circuit made of hundreds to thousands of transistors.
Example: As integrated circuits entered the LSI era, contact and proximity printing gave way to projection lithography.